Conference napalm::commusic_v1

    I complained to the post office with similar results. Electronic
    Musician now comes plastic wrapped. Most mags will plastic wrap
    for extra $.

    dave

Mine has always come in fine condition.

	Dan

    
    re .0  My newest copy of Keyboard came with a big rip (2 to 3 inches
    long) in the front cover. I believe my soundpage is OK, but I haven't
    played it yet. I've had sounpages come with creases in the past,
    however, which in some sections  rendered the sounpage  almost
    unplayable. Pisses me off too!
    
    Mike D

    I've generally had good look.  I'm a charter subscriber (still have
    the first Chick Corea issue) and only once has it come damaged (torn
    cover).
    
    If it keeps up, and you find that in general people aren't having
    problems, it tends to point a convincing finger at your local PO.
    
    	db

My issues have been ok in Hudson Ma. When I lived in Maynard, I subscribed
to several magazines including TV Guide, and they generally showed up in
pretty bad condition. Did you complain to the postmaster at your post office
or was it just a counter person? There's always the KB Mag circulation dept.
and the Post Master Generals Office (Public Relations Dept.). I think it's a
crime the way they keep raising the postal rates and we keep getting poorer
service. Formal letters sent certified mail (which requires the receiver to
sign) might help, but polite indignation and a business like manner are
preferable to threats or condemnation because the person reading your letters
has no idea what is going. Stay cool; it's a common problem and it feels so
helpless and frustating.

good luck wockin' won, we is wockin'

dave

    I have, at various times in my life, gotten large numbers of magazines
    via mail.  (All of you who've been to my place understand the
    euphemisms involved here...).  What seemed to me to happen was that
    one particular magazine would arrive, for some series of of issues,
    in mangled shape.  Then everything would be ok, then another magazine
    would start getting trashed.  So it wasn't a specific magazine or
    the local post office.
    
    Magazines get shipped in bulk.  They get bundled into big wads that
    get tossed around by mail handlers.  If you have the bad luck that
    the bundle size and mailing list order puts your issue on the top
    or bottom of a bundle, your issue gets trashed, and will likely
    continue to get trashed until some new subscriber pushes you out
    of the hot seat.  The bundles eventually get broken down, and by
    the time it gets to the local post office, the damage has already
    been done.  So the magazines and the local post office are right:
    they're not doing it.  It's probably the post office that the publisher
    gives the bundles to, or one of the stops along the way.
    
    This mail gets treated like this because of the *reduced* rates
    applied to it.  That's no excuse, but complaining about increased
    first class rates, yelling at the subscription department, haranguing
    your local postal officials ain't going to help much; there's in
    fact nothing they can do about it.  I suppose you could write to
    the Postmaster General and complain about bulk mail handling at
    major mail depots, but guess how likely you are to be listened to.
    
    len.
    

Recently I bought an issue of KEYBOARD from a book store, (Stuart
Copeland on the cover), and when I got home I noticed the sound page was 
missing.  I looked carefully and saw that it wasn't removed because
there was no strip of plastic remaining in the binding.  Back at
the bookstore I noticed that none of the mags had soundpages.
Did any of these realy have the sounpage?

Bob

    re .6	Yup, close.  I ran a newsletter for a while (don't ask,
    cos I opened my mouth about word processors,  mailing lists and
    sticky labels, is why), anyway, to get the bulk rate you have to
    do a whole bunch of the Post Office's work for them.   As I remember
    it the whole shipment had to be in zip code order and they had to
    be separately banded for each change in the most significant three
    digits, i.e. all the 017xx were banded together, then the 018xx,
    etc., and they had to be in order within themselves.
    
    	The point ?   Oh, the point is that the magazine distributors
    should know this damned well and should put a sleeve or something
    on the first and last magazine of each zip code group.  The rules
    may be not EXACTLY as I stated them, thats not important.  The magazine
    distributors should care enough to know the rules and take some
    measures to protect the top and bottom copies of the batches.
    
    	Reg
    
    

    
    I have recieved Frets and Guitar Player magazine in rough shape
    myself. I used to have a mail slot on my front door, and the mailmen
    used to fold the magazines to fit them into the slot, so I installed
    a nice big mailbox, plenty big enough for magazines. The mailmen
    still continued to fold them for some strange reason. Then I tried
    putting a note on the mailbox asking the mailmen  "Please do not
    fold magazines", and I have noticed some improvement.
    
    I have been considering letting all my subscriptions run out and
    buy them over the counter for one reason. I find the magazines are
    available in the stores 1-2 weeks earlier than I recieve them by
    mail. This is inexcusable. Subsribers should get their magazines
    just as early, if not earlier than the stores get them. We are 
    dedicated enough to subscribe, we should get preferential treatment.
    Also, if I buy a magazine in a store, I can make sure I get a good 
    copy with a playable soundpage, and I make sure it gets home in one
    piece. Once at home, if the soundpage is worth saving, I record it onto
    cassette tape.
    
    Mark Jacques
    
    
    

    re .7  Bob, I subscribe to Keyboard mag, and once I had an issue
    come without a soundpage also. I called up Keyboard mag and told
    them, and they promptly sent me another copy. I don't know if this
    is something they only do for their subscribers, or what. Are you
    sure that none of the other mags had soundpages? I would definitely
    bring it to the attention of the store manager. Aren't they obligated
    to sell you a *complete* product? I'd say so.
    
    Mike

    You say you called Keyboard magazine! Where did you get their number ?
    Where do I get the number for Guitar Player/Frets.
                                         
    Mark J.


          

    
    I called directory assistance (California) to get the number I believe.
    Can't remember what it is or where I wrote it down (this was about
    a year and a half ago). I assume you could get the number for
    Guitar/Fretsmag the same way. I think the number is:
    1- area code (213??) 555-1212
    
    Mike D

    	I have had problems with magazines coming in torn up from time
    to time.  Here are some thoughts:
    
    1) The response about "bundling" is right on the money.  If you
    are unfortunate enough to be on top or on the bottom of the stack,
    your copy is going to be brutalized, period.  The only things that
    can moderate this effect are the publisher taking the care to put
    a top and/or bottom sheet between the bundles.  I have even seen
    some go to the trouble of putting a "paper bag" sheet cover around
    the entire product.  (Although this tends to be for specialty items
    like the quarterly newsletter from ACURA and such).
    
    2) The Post Office (particularly the person at the counter) is power-
    less at best, and doesn't even care at worst.  By the time they
    see your issue, the damage has usually been done.  There are things
    they can do to "not make things any worse".  These include not jamming
    magazines into boxes, etc..  The branch postmaster or your delivery
    person are the best people to approach on this score.
    
    3) Better publications are interested in seeing to it that their
    subscibers receive their products in decent shape.  Therefore, by
    all means contact KEYBOARD and tell them what's going on.  At worst
    they'll say they can't help, but at best they will ship your copy
    in an envelope (maybe even 1st class) at no extra charge.  
    
    4) Keep in mind that as someone said above, this tends to be a random
    phenomenon.  My issues of FORBES have almost never come in with
    so much as a scratch, and yet ROAD & TRACK varies from pristine
    to putrid.  
    
    Just for the record, I don't subscribe to KEYBOARD but do pick up
    most of the issues at the store.  The convenience of home delivery
    is outweighed (for me) by what I suspect could happen to the Soundpages
    in the mail.
    
    Clusters,
    Bill

    I second the purchase at the store for the sake of the sound pages
    also. I used to my Guitar Player magazines with destroyed sound
    pages & it did not make me happy. You don't save that much with
    a subscription, certainly not worth a hosed sound page or 3.
    							Jens

    
    
    'have to agree that it isn't just Keyboard that gets mangled. The
    only mags I get by mail which are generally in good shape are those
    that are shipped with a sleeve or in a plastic bag. In January,
    my Keyboard issue came in a plastic bag and I thought, "Gee, they've
    finally realized it was needed, great."
    
    February: back to the same.
    
    If you ask them about it, all you get is that a sleeve or bag would
    put up the cost of a subscription. Funny that, Smithsonian subscription
    costs less but is sleeved ... must be economy in numbers at work,
    or some such excuse.
    
    Robert
    

	FWIW, I noticed a cute little cartoon in the latest KEYBOARD addressing
the problem of damaged soundpages...  They suggested calling them for a 
replacement.

	Dan

    
    	This month mine came VERY LATE and in a plastic bag.  I still
    don't know how it got there, since there was no mailing label on
    the magazine, OR on the bag it came in.  I don't really believe
    it fell off at the last second, and I KNOW none of my kids has the
    kind of patience to pick it off.
    
    	R